One of the issues that computers are facing is their inability to provide a real instant-on power feature. General purpose computers, and mobile computers in particular, present a limited capacity to provide an instantaneous response to a user's request. The power-on sequence of the computers—generally involving a boot-strap session followed by booting the operating system—substantially increases the time which is needed before the user becomes able to use his system.
In many situations, it is highly desirable that the computers be able to behave as any ordinary product would be, i.e. by responding whenever the user requests it. This is particularly true when considering the role and the importance of the computers which are now taken in the information era. With the development of the Internet network becoming the primary source of information for the public, more and more services are offered to the public in general, and web consumers in particular. In such a context, it is clear that the response time of the computers might be perceived by the web consumers as a clear obstacle against the generalization of their use in any field of human activity.
The limited reaction time of general purpose computers in general, and mobile computers in particular, limits both their ready acceptance and use by the public.
Some small machines, dedicated to mobile users, known in the field as pocket or palmtop computers may provide an instantaneous service to their users. However this kind of machine is dedicated to serve a specific kind of users, namely the business travelers. Further, these machine have a limited capacity and usually provide no keyboard, no real display and no hard disk drive.
It is therefore highly desirable to improve the possibilities of instantaneous response to the computer systems for the benefit of their users.